A Long December
by mileouttahell
Summary: After the events of Lady Knight, Kel is feeling alone as the rest of her friends find romance. Is there someone for her? [Not a songfic; I just needed a title. ^^;]


Well, I came away from Lady Knight a bit sad that Kel didn't find someone. In some ways, it's good, but *giggles* I think she needs a boyfriend! And I kept thinking through the book that a certain someone *cough* might be developing feelings for Kel. ^_^ So here's my interpretation.  
  
Warnings: Spoilers for Lady Knight; a pairing that is not very cannon (I'll give you a hint; it doesn't involve Neal, Cleon, or Dom.) Mild crudeness on Kel's part.  
  
Date: 8/25/02  
  
  
Kel sighed. It was a bad winter; impossible to travel anywhere in Tortall. The good side was that the trouble with the Scanrans had mostly been squashed, and what was left of their army was confined to the north. In addition, there was very little trouble from within. Even bandits and immortals were holed up due to the weather.  
The bad news was that there was nothing to do. There were parties nearly every night, arranged by the king and queen in hopes that it would give the knights in residence something to do other than wreak havoc with overenthusiastic sparring. But Kel didn't have anyone to go with, and with her friends all matched up, parties were boring.  
And there was the other thing bothering her. Everyone was falling in love, matching up. Cleon had his betrothed- they were to marry in the spring. They were getting along fine, and Kel felt a small pang of jealousy, although it was mostly covered by happiness for her friend. Roald had Shinkokami; they'd married in the fall and were still in the wedded bliss stage. Neal and Yuki were going to marry in the spring; she hadn't heard plans for Raoul and Buri, other than idle talk of a double wedding. Even Dom had a lady; a pretty girl from the Riders who was deadly with a staff.  
Kel was happy for her friends; she really was. But a party wasn't any fun when all your friends were more interested in making doe eyes at their significant others. It also made her wonder what it was about her that made her so unlucky in love. Lady Alanna even had someone, for Mithros' sake. One would think that if The Lioness could find a doting husband, anyone could. Yet Kel remained partnerless.  
/There has got to be something to do,/ she thought. /Maybe I should run through my glaive routine again./ But she'd practiced weapons that morning until they were coming out her ears. She couldn't joust; the courtyard was covered with snow. There was no one around to practice weapons with.  
She stood up, frustrated. She'd try the library. Maybe she could find something to read- a history of battles or something similar would be suitable. Reading histories of past battles often led her to discover tactics she hadn't thought of, and sometimes gave her new ideas. There was talk of putting her in command of a company of the Own in the spring; she wasn't comfortable with the idea, but figured that Raoul did know what he was doing when he talked of giving her a command.  
Kel paused, just inside the library. Brown curls were highlighted by the gentle light of a candle. The newly-knighted Sir Owen of Jesslaw sat curled up in an armchair, reading a book. Kel smiled at the picture of comfort he made. She should take a page from his book and try to relax, she realized.   
Owen, sensing her presence, glanced up from the book he was reading. "Kel! Kel!" he said, waving, as though Kel hadn't noticed him.  
Kel suppressed a smile. Every time she saw him, she was amazed at how much he'd changed. He'd gotten taller and lost a lot of his baby fat that had made him look chubby and younger than he was. She could also see the ghost of a beard on his face. Kel noticed all that, but when Owen opened his mouth, she was always reminded that he was still the cheerful, friendly, and brave guy she'd met as a page.  
"Hiding out from the kissy couples?" Owen asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.  
"Yeah." Kel flopped into the armchair next to him with a sigh. "I'm happy for all of them, but I think if I hear Meathead say the word 'Yuki' one more time, I will scream."  
Owen chuckled. "Romance is in the air. It must be catching."  
"Wrong season."   
"One would think so," Owen said. "What happened with Cleon, anyway?" He suddenly looked abashed, realizing he might have asked a rude question.  
"It's all right," Kel said, seeing his expression. "We were apart for two years. People change in that amount of time, especially when you're young, like we are. I wasn't really interested any more, and Cleon needed his betrothed's dowry to help out his people."  
Owen nodded. "So you broke it off."  
"Yeah. It wasn't too bad as far as breakups go." She looked sadly down at her lap. "But it still upsets me…that everyone else has someone else and I don't."  
"Not everyone has someone," Owen argued.  
"Oh?"   
"Sure. Merric doesn't have someone-"  
"Merric is sleeping with half the court."  
Owen rolled his eyes. "Let me finish. He doesn't have someone special. Lady Haname doesn't have anyone. Neither does Faleron, or Esmond, or Quinden, or Lalasa." There was a brief pause, and Kel could have sworn that Owen was blushing lightly. But it could have just been the light. "I don't have anyone."  
Kel would have looked embarrassed, if she hadn't been trained to hide her emotions. "Sorry, Owen," she apologized. "I guess that was pretty insensitive of me, wasn't it?"  
"No, don't worry about it. I know how you feel, anyway. Rather frustrating, isn't it. He proffered his book. "It's a history of the Terair wars, three hundred years ago. Lots of nice drawings of the battle formations and stuff.:  
"But you were reading that," Kel protested.   
"I'm done with it."  
Kel studied him. He was lying through his teeth- badly, as always. Why? She considered a moment, but couldn't figure it out. "We could look these over together," she offered. She placed the book on the floor, then lay down in front of it and opened it. She indicated the space next to her. "Come on, then."  
  
Neal, passing the library with Yukimi on his arm, paused, startled.   
"What is it?" Yuki asked, puzzled.   
Neal put a finger to his lips, then jerked his chin towards the library, where Kel and Owen were sprawled out on the floor in front of a book, heads tilted towards each other as they held a quiet conversation. Neal pulled Yuki around a corner.   
"You've got that look in your eyes," Yuki said, eyeing Neal nervously.  
"Of course I do, my dear. I've been trying to think of someone to set Kel up with for weeks. She doesn't show it, but I think she feels lonely and left out." He nodded, over-serious. "She needs a man, and I just realized that Owen could very well be that man."  
Yuki nodded. "I think you're right."  
"So you'll help me?" Neal said, the gleam in his eyes getting stronger.   
"Whatever you want," Yuki agreed.  
"Great! Here's what we'll do."  
  
"Kel! Owen!" Neal said, causing both of them to jump.   
"Goddess, Neal. You scared me out of a year of my life," Kel complained.  
"Sorry," Neal said, not sounding sorry in the least. "Listen, some of us are going to have a smaller party in about half an hour in my room. You two want to come?"  
"I don't think so," Kel started. Owen nodded agreement.  
"Awww, come on, guys! We're gonna play cards and do lots of fun stuff." Neal grinned. "Well, maybe Owen shouldn't play poker." He gave both of them the puppy eyes. "Come on, guys. I haven't seen much of you, lately. Owen, I wanna know how you feel about being a big, bad knight now."  
Owen looked hesitant. "I'll go if Kel goes."  
Kel couldn't refuse her best friend. "All right," she agreed with a sigh. "I'll go. Just give me a little while to change." She made a face, looking down at the loose shirt and breeches she hadn't bothered to change after her morning arms practice.  
Neal laughed. "Great. I haven't seen much of you lately. It'll be good to talk to you."  
  
"Why am I doing this?" Kel asked herself, tugging at the dress she was wearing. She'd used to wearing breeches all the time, since a knight's life didn't afford much time for pretty clothes. As a result, she was never comfortable in dresses, even though the one she was wearing was fairly casual and designed by Lalasa to specially flatter her. She didn't even have a real notion of why she'd chosen a dress at all.  
"Kel!" Neal said, waving her in. "Come on in." Owen wasn't far behind her, and Neal welcomed him in as well. Their friends greeted them, most of them hiding smiles, since Neal had let them in on the plan. Evidently they were the last arrivals, since Yuki stood up and addressed the guests.   
"Mistletoe!" she said, holding up a sprig. "I'm going to put it up somewhere while nobody's looking."  
"A bit late in the season, isn't it?" Merric asked.  
"Yeah, but we had that big spidren hunt at midwinter, before the snow drove them all underground," Neal said. "We thought this could be a bit of a late celebration." He had to hide another smile. "Anyone up for a game of I Doubt It?"  
Owen groaned. "I'm terrible at that game."  
"You have a terrible poker face," Neal informed him.  
"Thanks. I think I'll just pass," Owen said.  
The others settled around the table and Neal delt the cards. Since Neal had purposely picked a group activity, the couples were less likely to pay attention only to each other. He congratulated himself mentally when he saw Kel relax marginally, as the conversation was a group one, not just between the couples. Owen was able to join in conversation as well, although he kept giving Kel away by looking over her shoulder and making faces at her cards.  
After Neal won the third game in a row by remembering exactly who had what card (a feat Kel still didn't understand), she stood up. "I'm out for this round. I think I've been trounced enough." She stood up. "I'm going to go see what Yuki's up to."  
As if on cue (in fact, it was) Yuki hurried into the room, crashing into Kel.  
It looked like a very accidental move. But Yuki was an extremely good actor and the move had been well thought out. And, Neal thought, at least a little luck must have been on their side. The seeming-accidental move sent Kel crashing into Owen, who instinctually caught her under the arms. They both blushed as their eyes met and Owen set her back on her feet.  
Yuki pointed up, hiding a smile with an open fan. Mistletoe had somehow been placed above Owen without him noticing. Owen turned redder; Kel fought a blush. After a moment's hesitation, Kel leaned down and kissed Owen.   
They probably would have gone on for hours, but after the first thirty seconds, their friends couldn't resist catcalling and whistling. They broke away, slightly out of breath and embarrassed.   
Kel glanced at Owen, exchanging a quick glance with him. "Will you all please excuse us?" she said, politely.  
Yukimi, the most under control in the group, smiled politely. "Of course. It was nice seeing both of you. You haven't been around much lately. Will you be at the party the king's hosting tomorrow?"  
"I think so," Kel said, after trading another glance with Owen.   
  
"Do you-" Kel asked, once she and Owen were comfortably ensconced in her room.  
"Yeah," Owen said interrupting. "You're an amazing person, Kel."  
Kel frowned. She wasn't good at taking compliments, and still wasn't sure what anyone would see in her, Cleon aside. "Why? And how long?"  
Owen smiled. "Honestly? I think it started the first time I met you. You waded into that fight without a second thought. I could have scorned you, or said I didn't want help from a girl, or insulted you. And you would have helped me anyway, because I needed it. I saw the same thing, when you saved Lalasa, and again with the refugee camp. A lot of those people were ungrateful or just took for granted what you did, and you wanted to help them anyway. And when you protect people- you get this passion in your eyes. Normally you have such a blank face, but you have these fiery eyes when someone's in danger. Like nothing's going to stop you. You're brave and beautiful and caring- how could someone not love you?" Owen finished his impromptu speech and took a deep breath. Kel was speechless.  
"When I realized it? When you came to Mastiff and I hadn't seen you for awhile. I was so happy to see you and I couldn't figure out why. It felt like my heart was overflowing, I was so happy to see you. That's when I realized that I loved you. But I thought you still had Cleon, and I've just been to scared to do anything since."  
"Oh," Kel managed. "Owen, I like you a lot. I hadn't even quite realized it until you kissed me. You've always been there for me, and you're braver than I am." Owen started to protest. "I don't know if I love you, though. I- I'm afraid that I'm fickle; that I'll never be able to settle down with one person."  
Owen smiled again. "That's better than I'd hoped for. I know you're kind of skittish. I'm willing to take is slow."  
Kel spoke slowly, in thought. "I asked Daine once why she and Numair haven't gotten married. She said that they're both worried about the age difference between them; that someday he's going to wake up and want someone older, or she'll want someone younger. Yet they're perfectly happy in the relationship they have."  
Owen couldn't stop grinning now. "I'd be content with that. No, I'd be more than content. I'd be very, very happy." /Ecstatic,/ he thought. He tentatively reached out and pulled Kel into his arms. It was awkward; she was still a little bigger than him, but she seemed perfectly content to be drawn against him.  
"Neal's never going to let us hear the end of this, you know."  
Owen mock-shuddered. "I know. And I'm not sure his ego needs the boost." Kel had curled partly up; now he could rest his chin on the top of her head. "But you know what? I don't care."  
Kel laughed. "You will after he the hundredth time he teases us."  
"Maybe, maybe not." He gently tipped Kel's chin up. "Since we're celebrating late midwinter, how about some late midwinter luck?  
Kel was happy to agree.  
  
  
Ugh. Yuck. :P Are there any other Kel/Owen fics out there? I couldn't find any, which is why I wrote one. But I'd like to read someone's hopefully better version of the relationship. Drop me a review if you know where there's Kel/Owen goodness. ^_^' 


End file.
